Insider Selling: Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Director Sells $300,459.78 in Stock

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Director Lydia Kennard sold 3,798 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total value of $300,459.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 122,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,706,955.22. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of FCX opened at $76.54 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $80.24. The stock has a market cap of $109.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $65.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.02.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 14.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 6,434.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 142,181,964 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $8,941,824,000 after acquiring an additional 140,006,047 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,244,504,000 after purchasing an additional 622,343 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,193,327,000 after purchasing an additional 395,226 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,489,069,000 after purchasing an additional 7,044,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.27.

Key Freeport-McMoRan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent performance data shows strong momentum, with FCX gaining significantly over the past month, quarter, and year. Zacks also identifies the stock as a strong momentum name, which may continue attracting trend-focused investors. Freeport McMoRan On Smelter Optimism And Whether The Stock Is Already Priced In Here’s Why Freeport-McMoRan Is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Optimism surrounding Freeport-McMoRan’s smelter operations and favorable copper prices supports the company’s growth outlook. A new Erste Group Bank coverage initiation with a “buy” rating also adds positive analyst sentiment. Erste Group Bank coverage
• Positive Sentiment: FCX recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.74 in earnings per share versus a $0.62 consensus estimate and revenue of $7.03 billion versus $6.62 billion expected. Analysts broadly maintain a “Moderate Buy” view, although the average published price target is below the current trading range.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts comparing FCX with BHP Group point to strong copper prices, healthy finances, and ongoing growth projects at both miners. The comparison supports the sector outlook but does not provide a clear company-specific catalyst. FCX versus BHP
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are weighing on the stock after its copper-fueled rally. While a discounted-cash-flow analysis suggests potential upside, market-multiple measures indicate FCX may be expensive following its strong run. Freeport-McMoRan Stock May Be Pricey After Record Copper Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Douglas Currault II sold 80,000 shares worth approximately $6.3 million, reducing his holdings by 27.5%. Although the sale may be personal or scheduled, it can reinforce profit-taking concerns when the stock is near record levels. Freeport-McMoRan Insider Selling

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.